Melody Bodette

She was formerly VPR's deputy news director and a reporter covering Addison and Franklin counties. She began at VPR as a part-time production assistant and was promoted to full-time in 2007. She has also served as a news and editorial assistant for TheBurlington Free Press. After graduating from Skidmore College, she spent a year in France working as a high school teaching assistant.

Melody grew up on a dairy farm in Addison County. She spends her free time gardening, cooking and being outside as much as possible.

Ways to Connect

The Vermont Department of Emergency Management will activate the state's Emergency Operations Center to prepare for possible flooding in the region. State utility regulators heard conflicting evidence this week about Vermont Yankee’s impact on the Connecticut River. Continuing problems with the lights on the Lake Champlain Bridge connecting New York and Vermont are expected to be fixed this week.

Millions of Americans were eagerly anticipating Wednesday’s Supreme Court decisions regarding DOMA, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and Proposition 8 in California, which defined marriage in that state, as DOMA also defined marriage, as being legal only between a man and a woman.

Susan Murray is among those millions who were riveted to the high court rulings, but she has a more direct connection, both technically and emotionally, than most.

Vermonters are reacting to the news that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and woman. Reaction to the decision is also coming in from Vermont’s congressional delegation. The St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center in Vermont has dropped plans to move into the old armory building. Heavy rain is in the forecast for the next few days and it’s already causing problems on Vermont roadways.

VPR spoke with Beth Robinson, one of the lawyers on the case that lead to Vermont’s Civil Unions law. At the time of the interview, Robinson was in private practice; she now serves on the Vermont Supreme Court.

Vermonters are reacting to the news that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and woman. A group assembled at RU12?, a community center in Burlington, cheered when the decision came down.

Lawyer Susan Murray was co-counsel on the case that lead to Vermont’s Civil Unions law. She says hundreds of people worked hard on the issue when the idea of marriage equality was foreign to most people.

Vermont State Police are investigating a suspicious incident in Peacham.

Wednesday morning a woman called police to say that an unknown white van came to her house on Slack Street and her husband went outside to speak with the occupant. She then heard shots fired, and went to a neighbor to call police. The husband has not been found.

The Vermont Army National Guard has sent a Black Hawk helicopter to assist in the search. They say they’re looking for an elderly man.

A spokeswoman for Quebec's anti-corruption unit says Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum has been arrested. Five of the bridges damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene are being re-built this summer. In all 34 bridges were damaged in the storm.

The private company that runs three out-of-state prisons where Vermont inmates are housed is defending its record on transparency. A Burlington-based nonprofit called the Vermont Fair Foods Campaign has released a report on working conditions in the state’s food industry. Police say the owner of a spa in Williston has been charged with allowing prostitution at the business. The Burlington School Board has fired a high school Spanish teacher who's accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.

After several weeks of speculation, state officials say IBM has told them workers at the company’s Essex Junction plant will be laid off. A soldier with ties to Vermont has been killed in Afghanistan. A judge has rejected a motion to dismiss the case or reduce the charge against a man accused of killing his wife in a Vermont condominium almost two decades ago. A town official says at least 15 volunteer firefighters have been suspended in Bennington for allegedly settling a camper on fire without proper permits during a mud-driving event last month.

The Board of Trustees at the University of Vermont has given its approval to a budget for the next fiscal year.

The budget includes $7.8 million in one-time funding, to make up a gap between revenue and expenses. The money would come from reserve funds and from the university’s endowment. The board had previously planned to use $2 million in one time funding.

University Vice President Richard Cate says the remaining shortfall comes from a decrease in the number of enrolling students and different mix of in-and-out-of-state students than expected.

Bernie Sanders is set to lead a hearing this week on the effects of sexual assaults on veterans while serving in the military. Vermont mental health officials say they're hoping a new seven-bed psychiatric unit in Middlesex will pass inspections and be ready to be open for patients by next week. Families held a reburial ceremony over the weekend at a Rochester cemetery where human remains were washed out of the ground by Tropical Storm Irene.

A Vermont National Guard official says the Air Force will consider the information in a revised environmental report when it makes a decision on where to base F-35 fighter aircraft. The Bennington School District will return to the voters for a third time on June 11 to try to pass a 2014 school budget. A researcher at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center has found what may be a way to improve treatment for adults who have a common form of leukemia. The recently published study shows that two drugs may be better than one.

The Burlington-based Committee on Temporary Shelter, better known as COTS, has received a grant that will allow them to launch a new program. The goal is to go beyond temporary housing in shelters and overflow motels and instead create a bridge back to permanent housing.

They’ll be working on this project with the Champlain Housing Trust and the Howard Center.

Rita Markley, the Executive Director of COTS, say the new program, says the program will put housing first.

Utility crews are working to restore power in the eastern and central part of Vermont after a powerful storm swept through the region yesterday. Champlain College is offering data protection services to more than 14,000 students and their families after a computer drive containing their Social Security numbers and other data was left unsecured in a computer lab. Fletcher Allen Health Care has applied for a Certificate of Need to spend $3.7 million on detailed planning and design work for a new building that could have four stories and include up to 128 single patient rooms.

Powerful thunderstorms passed through the region yesterday, taking down trees and knocking out power for over 13,000 utility customers. Smaller airports are feeling the crunch as airlines continue to cut costs. The big carriers are consolidating services at larger airports and flying fewer planes in and out of smaller ones. At Burlington Airport passenger numbers are higher than they were a decade ago, but they’ve declined nearly 18 percent since peaking five years ago.

Powerful thunderstorms passed through the region yesterday, taking down trees and knocking out power for over 13,000 utility customers.

The hardest hit areas were Caledonia and Essex counties, including the towns of Danville and St. Johnsbury.

Vermont State Police say many secondary roads were blocked by trees and they responded to reports of motorists stranded on back roads between downed trees and power lines. A tree fell on one car, trapping two people inside. They were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

Big plans are being considered at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. The hospital has applied for a Certificate of Need to spend $3.7 million on detailed planning and design work for a new building that could have four stories and include up to 128 single patient rooms.

The hospital needs the approval of the Green Mountain Care Board just to spend the money on the design phase. If they decide to move forward and build the project, they’ll need separate approval.

Dave Keelty, director of facilities planning and development for Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Vermont National Guard officials are studying a revised draft of an environmental impact statement that outlines how the basing of the F-35 fighter jet in South Burlington would affect the area around the Burlington International Airport. Federal budget cuts are affecting operations at Vermont’s seven Head Start programs. With temperatures rising to the 90s in the weather forecast, many Vermonters may be thinking of heading to their favorite swimming hole.